Industrial group plans for future disasters

Monday

Dec 10, 2012 at 9:17 PM

Because the land in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes is steadily decreasing, future flooding from hurricanes is a major threat.

Sable LeFrereStaff Writer

Because the land in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes is steadily decreasing, future flooding from hurricanes is a major threat.That is part of the message South Lafourche Levee District General Manager Windell Curole gave to members at the Bayou Industrial Group’s luncheon Monday in Thibodaux.Over time, the flooding of the Mississippi River created the delta many south Louisianans call home, he said. The higher the river, the more sediment it left behind. When the river dropped, the sediment stayed, creating land.With the construction of canals, levees and other man-made structures, there has been less flooding and less sediment being deposited, he said.“When gravity pulls it down, the sediment gets lower and lower, and with no more flooding, there is nothing to add to the top of it anymore,” Curole said.Curole said residents should understand the increased risk South Louisianans face with each hurricane. “Someone told me ‘Well, we didn’t flood for the hurricane (Isaac), and my response was ‘We were dry, but we are not high,’” he said.With each hurricane, it is impossible to predict what is going to happen, he said.Curole said with Hurricane Katrina the levee system didn’t fail in New Orleans like most believe. The levee system was designed to protect the city from a certain level of water, and the water surge from Katrina overpowered the levee and spilled over.The right of the hurricane’s eye wall is the most powerful, and Curole said any good-sized storm moving relatively slow could cause damage. This is what happened to LaPlace and other areas that flooded during Isaac.“In the wind field, even though the hurricane wasn’t strong, it decided to stay almost overnight in Houma. That wind energy continuously pushed water in to those areas,” he said.To plan for disasters like these, the Levee District is raising 12 miles of levees in south Lafourche and plans on building more structures.“If we are going to live here in the future, we have to plan for these problems,” Curole said. Jimmy Ledet, soon to be president of BIG, said as an engineer he understands the risk Lafourche could face and is happy the Levee District is taking strides to protect the community.“I am from Thibodaux, and I guess I have a lot of passion for where I live. Coastal restoration is a question of how we survive... Hopefully we can get something started to get something done,” he said.

Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houmatoday.com.

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